About Cinema Campaign

The Picture Palace Campaign was set up on 24 June 2009, after a group of local residents, traders and ward councillors got together at the Royal Albert. The catalyst was the secret sale of the Gala bingo hall, 25 Church Road (originally built as the Rialto Cinema), to Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) a religious charity, which narrowly outbid independent cinema operator City Screen which runs Picturehouse Cinemas in Brixton, Clapham, Greenwich, Hackney and elsewhere in the UK.

Author Archive | Cinema Campaign

Resurrected church plan falling on stony ground OPPOSITION is mounting following news that the Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) is reviving plans to use the former Gala bingo hall in Upper Norwood as a church. Previous plans to use the building, owned by KICC, as a church were rejected by Bromley Council in 2009. Now the Open […]

A big ‘THANK YOU’ to everyone who took the time to contact the campaign, political representatives and Bromley planning with your comments on FORTY SHILLINGS, Kingsway International Christian Centre’s PR company’s survey and proposals for ‘change of use’ of 25 Church Road, the last remaining dedicated D2 ‘Assembly and leisure’ venue and only registered ‘Asset of Community Value’ in Crystal Palace. […]

A CRYSTAL PALACE businessman has offered to buy the former cinema building at 25 Church Road for ten per cent MORE than its current market value – but has been turned down. The building is currently owned by KICC (Kingsway International Christian Centre) which is set to make a fresh application to use the building […]

VISITORS TO an open day organised by the Pentecostal church which owns the former cinema building at 25 Church Road found something they didn’t expect – a baptismal font. The font has long been rumoured to have been installed despite repeated denials by the church – Kingsway International Christian Centre – that it hadn’t. A […]

Plans to use 25 Church Road as a church are not being objected to on anti-religious grounds – and those that proclaim this to be the case are prepared to use ‘scare tactics’ and are exceptionally irresponsible. That is the message from veteran Upper Norwood Cllr Pat Ryan (Lab) in response to comments on Twitter […]

Important news! Make your voice heard – please take part in KICC’s survey KICC’s proposals for ‘Change of Use’ of 25 Church Road to a D1 ‘Place of Worship/Conference’ venue with D2 add-on Last week, Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) said they had delivered 17,000 leaflets to promote their proposals for ‘Change of Use’ of 25 […]

The campaign has been forwarded details of a private briefing (pre-application consultation) on proposals for and tour of 25 Church Road for political and ‘community’ stakeholders which is being held on Monday and Tuesday 8/9 September prior to Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) submitting a new planning application. KICC have also set up 2 new websites for […]

By Kalina Palka A couple of weeks ago I went to the Beckenham Odeon to see one of the most stunning films I’ve ever seen: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. In this film, special effects have finally come of age, creating an experience which was flawlessly real. ‘Performance capture’ technology gives us living, […]

Cinema can evoke powerful memories, freeze framing moments in our lives and dropping us back into a time, a place or social situation. These memories can provide a rich source of historical and cultural information. They are fun to read too! We are collecting your cinema memories. If you have any memories of going to the ‘Pictures’ in Upper Norwood then please […]

By Jerry Green If our campaign for a cinema at in Crystal Palace is successful, it would become the area’s ‘fifth’ cinema. The article which follows is about the previous four…. The silver screens of Crystal Palace A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away – well actually it was Crystal Palace in the 1930s… […]